Tim Hortons, President's Choice top list of Canada's most trusted brands

The top ten most trusted brands in Canada have been named, and the usual suspects make the list, though there are some notable exceptions.

The Gustavson School of Business at the University of Victoria released the Gustavson Brand Trust Index Wednesday to identify which brands Canadians trust the most, giving businesses the opportunity to learn tactics to improve customer advocacy and perception. There is no doubt trust is a major factor in relationship building between a brand and consumers and is known to have a large impact on a business’ bottom line.

While some industries fare better than others – the least trusted brands fell in the financial, travel and utility industries – each brand is measured by a variety of factors voted on by consumers, including community and social responsibility, innovation, differentiation, leadership, quality and value for money.

It won’t come as a surprise to many to learn coffee-company Tim Hortons ranked at the number one spot. Other food and beverage labels, such as President’s Choice, Kraft Foods, Campbell Soup Company and Heinz also made the top 10.

Most trusted brands in Canada:

Tim Hortons
President’s Choice
Shoppers Drug Mart
Google
Canadian Tire
Kraft Foods
Campbell Soup Company
Heinz
Canada Post
Johnson & Johnson

To give a broader picture of the most trusted brands, Gustavson also ranked the results by sector.

Most trusted brands in Canada by sector:

Banks: TD Bank
Beer: Alexander Keith’s
Cars: Honda
Coffee/Tea: DAVIDsTEA
Confectionary/Snack foods: Cadbury
Consumer packaged goods: President’s Choice
Dairy: Natrel
Energy companies: Shell
Hotels: Holiday Inn
Insurance: Manulife
Media: CTV
Natural/Health: Jamieson
Pharmacy: Shoppers Drug Mart
Restaurants/Takeout: Tim Hortons
Retailers (non-drug): Canadian Tire
Soft drinks/Juice/Waters: Coca-Cola
Supermarkets: Walmart
Technology: Google
Telecoms/Cable: TELUS
Travel: Westjet

The Gustavson Brand Index also found that consumers recommended brands they believed to be honest, reliable and consistent, and that women tended to trust brands more than men. Older people also trusted the top brands more than younger people.

As for the banks, Gustavson reports they generally score above average in the social responsibility category and provincial banks like Groupe Desjardins in Quebec and Vancity in B.C. are particularly favoured.

Notable brands that did not make the list were lululemon, Roots, Blackberry, Save on Foods and Air Canada, among many more.